Dude, where is my Asus Transformer Prime?

Posted December 2, 2011 - 15:48
by
Trent Nouveau

Here we go again. Yes, it’s only been a week or so since pre-orders opened up for the long-awaited Asus Transformer Prime.

Yet, Amazon is already canceling "some" of the orders. The reason? Well, according to XDA forum posts cited by Engadget, demand for the Tegra 3-powered tablet is so great that it’s outstripping an apparently limited supply.

As such, Amazon axed a number of pre-orders placed on or after November 22 and issued refunds to disappointed customers.

Unfortunately, the whole pre-order rush and subsequent cancellation debacle is a bad case of déjà vu for both Asus and Android fanbois.

You may recall that the Prime’s predecessor - known simply as the EEE Pad Transformer - sold out within minutes of being listed on both Walmart and K-Mart. The older tablet also sold out almost immediately on Best Buy, Amazon and Target.

It is probably worth noting that the Asus Transformer Prime represents Android’s best hope of wresting significant tablet market share from Apple’s iPad - before having to contend with a plethora of Windows 8 devices.

Truth is, the Prime is one tricked-out tablet; one which could potentially lure many mainstream consumers away from the iPad. No one is disputing the fact that Apple’s iPad is a sweet device indeed, but having a market almost completely dominated by a single tablet isn’t at all healthy.

So please Asus, let’s get those Transformer Prime tablets built and put back on the pre-order shelves ASAP.